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Step 1: Preparing and Roasting Carrots

Method

Step 1: Preparing and Roasting Carrots

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Peel the carrots and cut the carrots into long diagonal strips. To do this, first cut the carrots in half lengthwise and then lay them down on the flat side so that the carrots are stable when you slice them. Also, try to cut them all roughly the same size so they cook evenly during roasting.

Transfer the carrots to a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, melted butter and oil and toss to evenly coat. Add the salt and pepper and toss again.

*Note: For plant-based, use a non-dairy butter such as Earth Balance.

Place the carrots onto a parchment-line baking tray. Roast the carrots for approximately 12 to 15 minutes, taking them out of the oven to toss half way through the roasting process. Once caramelized and just cooked through, serve immediately, sprinkling with a bit of grey salt, if desired.

Chef's Notes

This is a great alternative to boiled or steamed carrots. Make sure you make some extra carrots though, as they are highly addictive.

To prepare these carrots in advance, you can cut them ahead of time; however, toss and seasoning just prior to roasting. If done too soon, the salt will extract the water from the carrots and will prevent them from roasting nicely.

You can also substitute maple syrup or honey for the brown sugar, if you prefer.

25 Comments

Ben G

•
March 5, 2007 at 11:10AM

This is a good recipe to use as a base, but with roasted carrots, you can play with a variety of ingredients such as flavoured honey, basalmics, salts and herbs. Adjust the sweetness to your liking - in this recipe the 3 tbsp of brown sugar make it on the sweet side. Reduce the sugar a bit for less sweet, or add some basalmic vinegar. I used a combination of regular basalmic vinegar and fig basalmic in this recipe and then garnished the carrots with fleur de sel (to taste) after plating.
These go great with the Ancho Chili Beef Short Rib Recipe and the Smashed Sweet Potatoes recipes on this site.

Tossing the carrots halfway through cooking is done because the tops of the carrots tend to dry out as they roast. If you toss them halfway through you redistribute the glaze which helps them cook more evenly and also helps keep them more moist.
I am a big fan of tossing things halfway through the cooking process, it is often what makes the difference between something that is good and something that is just that much better. The finishing touches!

I made the mistake of preparing these about 3 hours before baking and the sugar completely melted so I didn't get a good glaze. Mistake noted and learned for better results next time, but the carrots still tasted delicious! I loved cutting them on the diagonal for a more interesting presentation.

Delish, everyone loves the flavor. BUT it takes much longer than 12-15 minutes in the oven. I wanted to time it so that they were done right at dinner time, but they weren't even close to done after 15 minutes. After a good 25 minutes I had to take them out because people were finishing up their dinner, and they were still very crunchy.

I wanted to follow up that it is indeed looking like it's an issue with my oven. I got myself an oven thermometer, and when I set my oven at 450, the thermometer says it's only 375. No wonder why my roasted veggies were never really caramelizing! I can't believe that there is such a big difference.

Thanks for the follow up Daniel. I think most people would be surprised to know just how off their oven settings might be (mine us out by about 30F). It sure does make a difference when it comes to cooking times and trying to gauge when things are going to be done. Cheers!

I made these for the veggie to go with my beef roast for dinner. My husband hates cooked carrots - first thing he tried and had nothing but raves for them! Yay!! I can finally get him to eat cooked carrots!

I am very new at this cooking thing. I tried this recipe today and had two problems (really three.)
1. I found out wax paper is not the same as parchment paper. Burnt it in the oven. Parchment paper is now on the shopping list.
2. When I put the ingredients on a regular non stick baking pan I believe the brown sugar burnt. There was burnt patches of goo in the pan. It also created smoke in the oven. Is this normal?
3. I normally eat baby carrots (those tiny pre-shaved carrots in the small bag.) Per the recipe I bought a regular 10 pound bag of carrots and scrubbed them clean then sliced them at the angle shown in the video. While cutting them I tasted a couple of slices and found them kind of tart or off tasting compared to the sweet taste I get eating the baby carrots. I was told by a friend that baby carrots were regular carrots cut down to a smaller size. Is this taste difference normal?
Thanks for your feedback.

Welcome to Rouxbe! Cooking is definitely a learning process.
Yes, wax paper and parchment paper are not the same thing.
You may want to invest in an oven thermometer to test the real temperature of your oven (some ovens can be off by as much as 50 degrees). You may have hot spots in your oven that can make the sugar brown too quickly.
Lastly, yes...those baby carrots aren't truly baby carrots. They are processed from larger carrots. Regardless if you buy a regular bag of carrots or the manufactured baby ones...either type may taste sweeter and sometimes they might be old and bitter-tasting. It just depends on the season and the quality of carrots that you got. Don't let that sway you from making them again. Hope this helps! Cheers!

Thanks for the reply Kimberley
I bought an oven thermometer before cooking this recipe and placed it at the front of the over and it tested good. But I'll do like you say and test different areas of the oven as well.
Glad to hear that regular and baby carrots are the same. Probably got a bad batch. I didn't want to spend the higher price just for the processor to shave them down to little ones. I'll buy some more and cook them again.
I once had glazed carrots years ago and thought they were the best. I want so badly to be able to make them on my own.
Thanks again.

These were great.. I loved the flavor and crunch - I found that 12 minutes was perfect in my oven (I already have a thermometer and have been using it for a while now..). John F: best of luck, and keep it up! It's a learning process but that's certainly part of the fun.

Can I prepare the carrots the day ahead putting in a casserole dish, then on dinner day mixing the sugar, oil etc in, and baking at maybe 350 for maybe 20 mins, while the Turkey rests?
-Also can I bake (par boiled) green beans (with Cambozola cheese and pine nuts) adding the cheese at the end after warning in the oven?
-Also the stuffing covered to warm. All in the convection oven together.
So every thing is warm and I am stress free and relaxed having only the gravy, carving the turkey, and mash the potatoes. Now that seems doable!

Vegetables are best roasted just before eating. You can par-cook the carrots and green beans as you have suggested. The green beans dish could also be prepared a little bit ahead if you don't mind it not being hot. I would say that you are better off to do the mashed potatoes a little bit ahead and keep them warm over a baine-marie and then roast the carrots last.
As for being "stress free" that's what wine is for :-) Just kidding (sort of), seriously though, the more you practice bigger meals the easier it becomes. Just make sure you ask for help and remember that in the end everything is going to turn out great and taste delicious. Cheers!

I'm just feeling a little nervous because of new diet rules (no alcohol, no glutens, no dairy, oh dear) small children, dogs, People wanting to prepare their Special Kubasa in my kitchen at the last minute…I love my big family, in laws, children. I'm just feeling out of my game. Thank-you for the moral support.

You can certainly use maple syrup instead of the brown sugar. Depending on how sweet you like things, you may want to just use a bit less — and since you are only using a couple of tablespoons, you should be just fine as far as the moisture is concerned. Cheers!